What He Remembered
by Kharissa
Summary: Berwald has come to Tino's cafe every day for a year, to listen to Tino, the owner, talk about his life. When Berwald asks Tino on what turns out to be a date, the Fin is surprised at the little things the Swede remembered. Prize fic for momiji101! I hope you enjoy :D


Tino smiled as he wiped off the front counter of his cafe, in downtown St. Louis. The Fin checked the clock and smiled, setting aside his cleaning rag. It was almost five in the afternoon. That meant his favourite customer, a Swedish man by the name of Berwald, was due to walk through the door any minute now.

Berwald had been going to the cafe every day for a year. At first Tino thought he was very scary and tried to stay as far away from him as possible. He had told his best friend Arthur about the scary man that always sat in the corner booth. Arthur had urged him to talk to the man. The brown eyed one did so, and he was glad. He had found that Berwald was a man of a few words, yet somehow they would stay for hours, talking about anything and everything. Berwald had chuckled when Tino mentioned that his favourite item in the whole wide world was glowsticks. Upon receiving a questioning look, he explained that when you broke them open, the colour would come out like snow. It reminded him of his home in Finland.

The conversations went on every day like clockwork. One day they got on the subject of romance. Tino had explained, in great detail, how exactly he'd like to be asked out: a romantic, candle-lit dinner for two in a fancy restaurant, maybe even in a different country. Sweden sounded pretty good to him. Berwald nodded and took a sip of his coffee. Tino expected that his words would be forgotten soon.

"T'no?"

The shorter blond jumped a little. He was so lost in thought that he hadn't even seen the Swede come in. He smiled up at the rather tall man in front of him.

"Ah, hello Ber! I am sorry for not noticing you earlier, I was daydreaming, I guess. Will you have the usual?"

"No"

"...No?"

"T'no, how much do y' trust me?"

"Well, I would say it's a fair amount of trust... why?"

"C'n I use y're k'tchen for a l'ttle?"

"Oh, um... I guess so..."

Berwald nodded. "Th'n come b'ck at s'x. And wear a suit"

...A suit? Did Tino hear that right? He looked into Berwald's eyes and saw that the bespectacled man was completely serious. The brown eyed one rocked back on his heels and thought about it. He did trust Berwald, and knew the taller blond wouldn't destroy it or anything. He took off his apron and disappeared in the back for a little. He came out again a short time later, wearing regular clothes and his coat. Tino gave Berwald another smile.

"I guess it's okay... but why are you wanting me to come back after dark?"

The corners of the Swede's mouth turned up for a split second, in a way that clearly meant 'You'll see'. Tino handed his friend the keys tot he cafe and walked out, waving goodbye. Once he was a few blocks away from the cafe, he entered panic mode. He whipped out his cell phone and called Arthur for advice. The Brit sounded rather upset, but that was normal for the green eyed man.

"Bloody hell, what do you want?"

"Arthuuuur! I am in some serious trouble heeere!"

"What happened?"

"Well, Berwald came in at the usual time, but he didn't want the usual coffee. He is inside my kitchen right now making food and he told me to come back at six in a suit!"

"Hmpf. Seems rather fishy to me, chum. You are sure he can be trusted?"

"Yes, of course I am sure! Would he be in my kitchen otherwise?"

Arthur sighed and took a sip of something. Most likely tea.

"Well, then why are you calling me and worrying so much about this? It's not like he's got something special planned or anything"

Tino stopped walking for a second when he heard this. What if... what if Berwald _was_ planning something? Maybe... a birthday party for his son- wait. Berwald's son's birthday wasn't for a couple months... so that wasn't it. Maybe he just wanted to try the kitchen out and thought it was a suit occasion? No, that didn't sound right either. The blond-haired Fin spent the rest of the walk home on the phone with Arthur, trying to think of what it could possibly be. His gut feeling told him it wasn't anything that didn't involve the brown eyed man. Why else would Berwald request the use of _his_ kitchen? He was certain the blue eyed man had a kitchen in his appartement. Tino said goodbye to his best friend once he got to his house. He unlocked the front door and stepped in, taking off his coat and shoes. He checked the clock and his heart stopped. He had just enough time to get on a suit and walk back. This caused the Fin more panic. He started pacing out of habit. Looking at the clock again, Tino figured he could be a few minutes late.

He ran upstairs and had a quick shower. The brown eyed man ran back downstairs, with only a towel around his waist, to feed his dog. The white ball of fluff gave Tino the 'you're feeding me, so I'll let his slide' look. The Fin ran back upstairs, combed his hair and found his black tux. He took his time in getting it on, making sure there was no dog hairs. He quickly got on his dress shoes, said goodbye to Hanatamago and rushed out the door. He had just five minutes before he was late to Berwald's... whatever it was going to be. Somehow, Tino made it just two minutes after six. Berwald was waiting outside, dressed in similar attire to his friend. The shorter blond waved to the Swede.

"Ah, I am sorry for being late..."

"Two m'nutes isn't l'te, T'no"

With that the bespectacled man turned and opened the door, holding it open for his 'guest'. Tino walked in and looked around. The tables had been moved so that they formed a walkway. It led to a table in the middle of the room that was covered with a red cloth. A vase of roses and a single candle were sitting on top of it. Tino immediately felt a blush paint his cheeks when he saw all this. It was the basics of what he'd described to Berwald... the taller man had even bothered to remember that? Berwald coughed and the shorter one looked at him. He walked to the light switch and let one of his small, rare smiles cross his lips.

"Y' like glowst'cks, r'ght?"

"Yes... I am surprised you've remembered all this.."

"Watch"

Berwald flicked the switch and the lights turned off. The tables immediately started glowing with red, blue, green, yellow and orange. Tino gasped. He'd told the Swede how he loved broken glowsticks, the contents scattered and looking like neon snow. Tino looked around, taking it all in. He couldn't utter a word. He simply followed Berwald to the middle table, where the Swedish blond lit the candle with a match. He held out Tino's chair for him. The Fin swallowed thickly and sat down, his heart racing. The taller man dissapeared into the kitchen and came back with food.

Dinner was salmon fillets with a tossed salad. They started up their usual conversation while they ate, despite the differences from the normal setting. The mood was light hearted, and Berwald was smiling more in that time than the Fin had ever seen. They talked about Berwald's adopted son, Tino's dog, their friends and what they had planned for the future. Before they knew it, their food was finished. With yet another smile, Berwald disappeared. He came back with strawberry shortcake... The bespectacled man got them clean forks. He just started eating the dessert without bothering to cut it. The brown-eyed man laughed a little and did the same.

Throughout this dinner, Tino was wondering if Berwald's intentions were as he thought. He ran over the possibilities in his head again, but shot down every single one. Except the idea that this was a date, and the blue eyed man... actually had feelings for him. He could feel a blush redden his cheeks whenever he thought of that. It would make sense, considering... well, everything. the glowsticks, the candle-lit dinner and the suits. The shorter blond swallowed thickly again, and decided to just go for it. He looked at his plate while he spoke.

"Um... Ber? A-are you... with anyone right now?"

"No, b't I've g't my eye 'n someone"

The Fin felt his heart sink.

"If you don't mind me asking... who is it?"

There was a long silence, so the Fin thought his question would remain unanswered. Until he heard Berwald's unusually soft voice.

"You"

Tino's head snapped brown eyed man could feel his pulse hammering in his veins as the thought that he was right, this _was_ a date ran through his head. Tino was speechless again. He stared at his potential new lover, forgetting how to react to this. The taller man reached across the table and grabbed Tino's hand. Blue stared intently into brown, trying to read the answer to his next question.

"T'no... do y' want t'... be m'ne?"

Finally, the Fin pulled himself together. He stood up and gently took his hand out of Berwald's. The Swede looked away, frowning at his seemingly failed attempt at asking out his crush of eleven months. So of course he didn't see the shorter man until there was a body in his lap. His blue orbs looked at Tino, trying to see through his intentions. Arms wrapped themselves around his shoulders. He was given the most heartwarming smile he'd ever seen.

"Berwald... I would love to be your boyfriend"

The Swede's smile was so large, Tino was sure it hurt his cheeks. He gently tapped the Fin on the nose.

"Y' mean w'fe"

"Um... how about we settle on lover?"

The bespectacled man smiled, tilted his lover's chin up with a finger and kissed him. It was a kiss promising not only more empty glowsticks, but hearts filled to the brim with love.


End file.
